‘Enough with the aged and unfit players’

KARACHI: No player will be eligible for selection for the upcoming Quaide Azam Trophy without proving their fitness, according to the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA).

There were complaints last year about several players, who were not fit for four-day cricket, being pushed for their inclusion in the domestic sides to get regional contracts that are awarded by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

“Enough is enough with the aged and unfit players,” the KCCA Secretary Ijaz Farooqui told The Express Tribune. “Now they’ll have to pass the physical tests in order to be eligible for selection. We want to start a new trend and we hope that other regions will follow it in order to bring in new blood which would ultimately help Pakistan cricket.”

Farooqui said that most of the players did not have the fitness to even stand for three days and these tests will expose them. The tests for the two Karachi teams will be held at the National Stadium between July 11-14 and all the zonal officials have been advised to be available at the time of the test of their seven respective zones.